Tissue And Muscle Damage

As bad as a broken bone sounds, some of the worst injuries are not to the bones at all, but to the muscles, tendons, skin, and cartilage. None of these tissues has a straightforward healing process, and unlike bone that can be immobilized by a cast, many types of tendon and muscle injuries cannot even be braced. For example, there is no cast for a serious upper back strain. Deep and extensive skin lacerations may heal in time, but not without permanent scarring and disfigurement. An Achilles tendon may never get back to full strength after a rupture. The tremendous pain and suffering, not to mention permanent impairment and potential disability that victims of traffic collisions, slip and falls, medical malpractice, and ATV accidents are subjected to should not be ignored by the negligent party or devalued by their insurer. The Barrie tissue and muscle damage lawyers at the law offices of Preszler Injury Lawyers are here to help you file a personal injury claim against the at-fault party.

Time to Heal and the Degree of Healing Have Much to do with the Type of Tissue That Is Injured

There are three categories of tissue that can be damaged during a traffic collision, slip and fall, medical error, or other unintentional incident. These include damage to the skin, damage to the muscle, or damage to cartilage or tendon. The healing rate of an injury depends on many factors, including blood flow. The more blood that can be circulated to the injured area, the more quickly and completely that injury will heal. Blood delivers necessary nutrients and oxygen to the damaged tissue, allowing for repair and regrowth of new tissue. For example, because there is so much blood flow to the skin, a deep laceration that cuts through all skin layers will heal relatively quickly, though scarring may leave a lasting mark. Muscles also have good blood flow, allowing them repair in a relatively short amount of time following in injury or rehabilitative surgery. On the farthest end of the spectrum from skin is tendon. Even bones have more blood supply than tendons. A torn muscle may regain full strength, depending on the severity of the injury, while a torn tendon (or ligament) may never regain full mobility or strength. Tendons hold muscles onto bones and cartilage acts as a cushioning mechanism between joints so that bones do not rub against one another. Both tendons and cartilage have relatively weak blood flow, which means that injuries to these types of soft tissue take longer to heal, and they generally heal less fully.

Common Types of Tissue and Muscle Injuries

• Whiplash—The most common injury that traffic collision victims suffer is whiplash, which is often in conjunction with other soft tissue injuries. Whiplash occurs when the head rocks back and forth violently with sudden acceleration or deceleration. This impact tears muscles and tendons within the neck, causing pain and stiffness within the upper back, the neck, and up toward the base of the skull. Victims of whiplash generally suffer from severe headaches, nausea, immobility of the head and neck, and pain all the way from the head down into the upper arms and back. Whiplash can last from weeks, months, or years depending on the severity of the injury and complications.
• Back Injuries—Every body movement reverberates, painfully, to the back for those with any type of back injury. Back pain is one of the leading injuries in Canada, and four out of five Canadians will experience some degree of chronic back pain at some point in their lives, according to Statistics Canada. Back pain may initially be caused by actual damage to the tissue, such as a muscle or tendon, but the pain may linger even after the tissue has healed. A few common types of soft tissue damage to the back include the following:
  • Bulging Disc—The spinal column is made up of vertebrae separated by spongy pads called discs. These discs are filled with fluid and act as shock absorbers, attachment points that hold the vertebrae together, and joints that allow the spine to bend. A sudden impact can cause a disc to bulge out from between two boney vertebrae, being pinched and causing serious pain and immobility.
  • Herniated Disc—When an impact or movement, such as a slip and fall, causes enough damage to a disc, it will herniate, or rupture. This causes tremendous pain and immobility for the victim.
  • Muscle Strains—The back is lined with dozens of muscles within the back, and when one gets strained, the patient is sure to take notice. Back muscle strains take a long time to heal because immobilizing the back is virtually impossible. A muscle strain may take weeks or months to heal but leave the patient with chronic back pain that lasts years or a lifetime.

• Torn ACL Tendon—The ACL tendon (anterior cruciate ligament) runs inside the knee joint, keeping the tibia in place and providing rotational stability for the knee, according to EMedicineHealth. The ACL tendon is often ruptured during slip and falls and traffic collisions. When the front end of a car is involved in a crash, the crumple zone extends into the occupants’ leg region, as the engine is pushed inwards into the dashboard, which inevitably makes contact with the driver’s and front passenger’s knees. ACL tears require extensive surgery and rehabilitation. The meniscus, which is another tendon in the knee that acts as a shock absorber, is also usually damaged when the ACL gets torn, and also requires surgery to fix.

What are common serious soft tissue injuries?

Other serious soft tissue injuries include the following:

• Torn Quadriceps Tendon
• Extensive Contusions
• Facial Lacerations and Disfigurement
• Permanent Scarring
• Road Rash
• Deep Lacerations
• Torn Muscles of the Shoulder, Hip, or Other Major Joint
• Torn Intercostal in Conjunction With a Chest or Rib Impact
• Torn Labrum of the Hip or Shoulder
• Torn MCL
• Tendon and Joint Sprains and Strains Such as Sprained Ankle or Wrist

Call Preszler Injury Lawyers for Help Today

If you are the victim of another party’s negligence, you deserve to be compensated for your pain and suffering, past and future medical expenses, lost wages and lost earning capacity, and much more. Call Preszler Injury Lawyers by dialing 1-800-JUSTICE today for a free consultation with a tissue and muscle damage lawyer in Barrie.